LATEST THINKING

Open

innovation

Smart solutions for R&D pipelines

Overview

Many companies are embracing the concept of open innovation, but few are doing so in strategic ways.

Our research found that when large corporations work with external parties to augment their internal R&D, they use four basic modes of open innovation: a traditional intellectual property contract, a partnership, a contest or a community.

Strategic success relies on knowing when and how to use or combine these four basic modes in the most effective ways.

Open innovation at Pfizer

Pfizer used a team-based contest approach working with an intermediary to deliver a smart packaging design solution for pre-filled syringes.

Different internal teams supported the effort and the solution exceeded expectations creatively and technically.

The contest generated many additional prototype ideas, delivered on a fixed-cost basis.

Open innovation at Samsung

South Korean conglomerate Samsung wanted to focus its innovation efforts on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for its ARTIK platform.

Samsung held an innovation contest for 500 developers.

The company realized around 30 contributions for its future IoT platform.

The ideas helped Samsung gauge the size of the market for ARTIK.

About the Study

Accenture undertook a joint research initiative with the Research Center for Open Digital Innovation at Purdue University. We studied the research and development operations of dozens of large corporations with headquarters in the United States and Europe. These companies had more than 1,000 employees and total revenues of at least US$250 million.

About Accenture Research

Accenture Research shapes trends and creates data-driven insights about the most pressing issues global organizations face. Combining the power of innovative research techniques with a deep understanding of our clients’ industries, our team of 250 researchers and analysts spans 23 countries and publishes hundreds of reports, articles and points of view every year. Our thought-provoking research—supported by proprietary data and partnerships with leading organizations such as MIT and Singularity—guides our innovations and allows us to transform theories and fresh ideas into real-world solutions for our clients.

Authors

Raghav NarsalayManaging Director for Innovation and Risk Management Research
Accenture Research

Dr. Sabine BrunswickerAssociate Professor for Innovation
Director Research Center for Open Digital Innovation
Purdue University

Mehdi BagherzadehResearch Fellow
Research Center for Open Digital Innovation, Purdue University

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